Pete Townshend - Gold (2005)

While most of Universal's excellent GOLD collections present an artist's output in tidy chronological order, the Pete Townshend installment of the series breaks with that tradition, offering a seemingly random two-disc sampling of the Who mastermind's solo output. Given the British guitarist/vocalist's unconventional, drama-loving attitude toward rock, however, this approach works quite well, bouncing around from 1993's PSYCHODERELICT to '85's WHITE CITY to '80's EMPTY GLASS. The 34-track compilation also includes songs from Townshend's first solo outing, '72's WHO CAME FIRST, and '77's ROUGH MIX, his excellent collaborative album with former Small Faces bassist Ronnie Lane. Throughout the highly eclectic GOLD, the constants are, of course, Townshend's plaintive voice and his distinctive guitar playing, which ranges from delicate acoustic lines to bombastic Who-worthy electric leads. Although there have been numerous Townshend compilations, GOLD is the most intriguing and comprehensive.